Listen to our inner voice
Sometimes we feel less than adequate and ask ourselves all sorts of questions like, "What the heck am I doing? Who am I to do this?" or "Why does everyone seem to be coping much better than I am?" We all have days when our inner critic stops us from progressing and living our full potential or from generally being happy. A few years ago I was throwing similar questions around about my ability as a mother, at a time when I was feeling particularly overwhelmed.
Here is a story I would like to share with you.
One sunny day I decided to take my two children to the seaside, it was lunchtime on a weekday so it was pretty quiet when we arrived. As we sat down on the sand I noticed a lady who was sitting on her own. She didn't have anything with her ,no bags, just sitting relaxing. As we lay on our blanket enjoying the sunshine my children decided they wanted to build a sandcastle, so without further ado we began to fetch buckets of water from the sea. My son began digging a hole for the water thinking he would make a lake, but to his dismay the water vanished each time he poured it in.
Tired from all our excavating we sat down on our picnic blanket to enjoy some sandwiches I had made earlier. The taste of sand as it was crunching in my teeth while I ate my sandwiches brought me back to when I used to visit the beach as a child. After our picnic basket had been exhausted and everything was eaten, the kids ran off to the water again to throw stones.
Later, as we made our way back to our blanket, the lady I had noticed earlier stopped me and said, "I want to thank you". I looked at her thinking to myself "why"? Then she continued, "I have enjoyed watching you and your children this afternoon, you have restored my faith in the modern family!" I was gobsmacked! "Thank you" I replied. "It's very kind of you to say so". She then said, "You are so beautiful together, and I have made your daughter a present". She pointed to a mosaic of pebbles at her feet which left me speechless. It was a beautiful, very detailed portrayal of the rising sun. As I was telling her how amazing her work was I suddenly felt overwhelmed with emotion. I realised that she must have been making this work of art the whole time we were there. With my three year old daughter in my arms, I glanced over to see my son had returned to our picnic spot and was lying in the sand. I then put my daughter down to get a better look at the mosaic. "I can see you are a wonderful mother", she said as she smiled at me. It felt odd that a stranger would be sharing this sentiment with me, but I was flattered none the less. We said our goodbyes and I turned to join my son who was now half buried in the sand. As I walked over to him, I turned to give her a smile but she was gone, not just from her spot but gone from the beach completely. She had vanished.
I suddenly realised that she must have been some kind of messenger, sent to tell me that I am a wonderful mother. These were words I needed to hear at that moment in time. It was beautiful! There are times we all need to hear things and these messages usually come from people we don't even know. People we may meet in the street, or people we engage with in what may seem to be a random chat. I believe however, that it is our soul or (true self) reminding us of our true nature. We are all perfect. For a brief moment, these messages help block out the negative thoughts that we so easily believe.
Here is a story I would like to share with you.
One sunny day I decided to take my two children to the seaside, it was lunchtime on a weekday so it was pretty quiet when we arrived. As we sat down on the sand I noticed a lady who was sitting on her own. She didn't have anything with her ,no bags, just sitting relaxing. As we lay on our blanket enjoying the sunshine my children decided they wanted to build a sandcastle, so without further ado we began to fetch buckets of water from the sea. My son began digging a hole for the water thinking he would make a lake, but to his dismay the water vanished each time he poured it in.
Tired from all our excavating we sat down on our picnic blanket to enjoy some sandwiches I had made earlier. The taste of sand as it was crunching in my teeth while I ate my sandwiches brought me back to when I used to visit the beach as a child. After our picnic basket had been exhausted and everything was eaten, the kids ran off to the water again to throw stones.
Later, as we made our way back to our blanket, the lady I had noticed earlier stopped me and said, "I want to thank you". I looked at her thinking to myself "why"? Then she continued, "I have enjoyed watching you and your children this afternoon, you have restored my faith in the modern family!" I was gobsmacked! "Thank you" I replied. "It's very kind of you to say so". She then said, "You are so beautiful together, and I have made your daughter a present". She pointed to a mosaic of pebbles at her feet which left me speechless. It was a beautiful, very detailed portrayal of the rising sun. As I was telling her how amazing her work was I suddenly felt overwhelmed with emotion. I realised that she must have been making this work of art the whole time we were there. With my three year old daughter in my arms, I glanced over to see my son had returned to our picnic spot and was lying in the sand. I then put my daughter down to get a better look at the mosaic. "I can see you are a wonderful mother", she said as she smiled at me. It felt odd that a stranger would be sharing this sentiment with me, but I was flattered none the less. We said our goodbyes and I turned to join my son who was now half buried in the sand. As I walked over to him, I turned to give her a smile but she was gone, not just from her spot but gone from the beach completely. She had vanished.
I suddenly realised that she must have been some kind of messenger, sent to tell me that I am a wonderful mother. These were words I needed to hear at that moment in time. It was beautiful! There are times we all need to hear things and these messages usually come from people we don't even know. People we may meet in the street, or people we engage with in what may seem to be a random chat. I believe however, that it is our soul or (true self) reminding us of our true nature. We are all perfect. For a brief moment, these messages help block out the negative thoughts that we so easily believe.
